Apparatus for forming an edible product

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for forming an edible product. The apparatus includes an inside tube, an outside tube extending along and around the inside tube, and a plurality of deflector plates extending across the passageway between the tubes. A first edible material is conducted through the inside tube, and a second edible material is conducted through the passageway between the inside and outside tubes. The deflector plates guide that second material into longitudinally extending spaced apart strands, and also form longitudinally extending spaced apart zones substantially free of the second edible material. The first edible material expands into those zones to form a product having alternating outside strands of the edible materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to apparatus and methods for extrudingan edible product having alternating, longitudinally extending outsidestripes of first and second materials; and more particularly, toapparatus and methods that may be effectively employed to extrude achewing gum product having alternating, longitudinally extending outsidestripes of different chewing gum materials.

One popular type of chewing gum has an elongated, solid cylindricalshape comprising an inner longitudinal core of a first chewing gummaterial, and an outer shell of a second chewing gum material. Thesefirst and second materials have different flavors and colors, andcertain combinations of chewing gum materials are very popular withconsumers because of their appearance and flavor characteristics. Thisproduct is made by a co-extrusion apparatus comprising a pair of innerand outer, concentric extrusion tubes. In operation, the first gummaterial is forced through the inner tube, while the second chewing gummaterial is forced through the annulus between the two tubes, producingthe composite chewing gum product, with the outer shellcircumferentially completely encasing the inner core.

The entire outside longitudinally extending surface of this productnormally has just one color, with the other color normally being visibleonly at the longitudinal ends of the product. It would be desirable toprovide a variation of this product in which both colors appear on theoutside longitudinally extending surface, for example in the form ofhelically twisted stripes. When forming such a product, it is preferredthat the different materials remain as distinct longitudinally runningstripes in the composite product and do not smear into one another.Also, it is desirable that the methods and apparatus used to make such aproduct be simple and employ existing equipment to the extent practical.

Several methods and apparatuses are known for producing edible productsformed of a plurality of elongated strands of materials helicallywrapped around each other. Many of these methods and apparatuses aresomewhat complicated, though, requiring, for example, elaborate feedmechanisms, or rotating extruder dies to impart the needed twist to thestrands forming the products. Moreover, these prior art methods andapparatuses are normally, if not exclusively, designed for use withmaterials softer than conventional chewing gum materials; and thesemethods and apparatuses are not readily adaptable, if at all, for usewith the relatively harder chewing gum materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide a very simple co-extrusionmethod and apparatus to produce an edible product having longitudinallyrunning, alternating, outside stripes of different materials.

Another object of the present invention is to produce a rope-shapedchewing gum product having longitudinally running, alternating, outsidestripes of two different chewing gum materials.

A further object of this invention is to direct a first edible materialinto a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, longitudinallyextending strands, and t expand a second edible material, from an arearadially inside those strands, outwardly into the spacescircumferentially between those strands, to form an elongated rope-likeproduct having longitudinally running, alternating outside stripes ofthose first and second edible materials.

These and other objects are attained with an apparatus for extruding anedible product, and comprising an inside extruder tube, an outsideextruder tube extending along and around the inside tube, and aplurality of deflector plates connected to at least a selected one ofthe inside and outside tubes and extending radially at least partiallyacross the annular passageway therebetween. In use, a first ediblematerial is conducted through the inside tube, and a second ediblematerial is conducted through the annular passageway between the insideand outside tubes. As the second edible material passes through theannular passageway, the deflector plates form that second ediblematerial into a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart strandsextending forward from the annular passageway.

In this manner, those deflector plates also form a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced apart zones, between those strands,substantially free of the second edible material and also extendingforward from the annular passageway. At the same time, the pressure ofthe first edible material discharged from the inside tube is sufficientso that this material expands radially outwardly into those zones toform a rope-like product having longitudinally running, alternatingoutside stripes of the first and second edible materials.

Further benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom a consideration of the following detailed description given withreference to the accompanying drawings, which specify and show preferredembodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of apparatus according tothe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the extrudernozzle of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the extruder nozzle of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the extruder nozzle, taken alongline IV--IV of FIG. 3 and showing first and second edible materialsbeing extruded through the nozzle.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partially in cross section, of a portionof a product extruded through the nozzle of FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an alternate extruder nozzlethat may be employed in the apparatus of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to the schematic illustration of FIG. 1, extrusionapparatus 10 comprises containers 12 and 14, feed mechanisms 16 and 20,and extruder nozzle 22. Nozzle 22, in turn, includes inside and outsidetubes 24 and 26 and a plurality of deflector plates 30. Containers 12and 14, which may take any suitable form, are provided to hold a supplyof first and second edible, extrudable materials; and feed mechanisms 16and 20 are connected to those containers, respectively, for supplyingthe first edible material to inside tube 24, and the second ediblematerial to outside tube 26.

Feed mechanisms 16 and 20 may be of the same or different types andoptionally selected from among a variety of devices available in theart. As one example, one or both of the mechanisms 16 and 20 may consistof an enclosed, automatically driven rotary valve or auger. As anotherexample, one or both of the feed mechanisms used in apparatus 10 mayconsist of means for supplying variable pressures to the materials incontainers 12 and 14, combined with automatically actuated valve meansfor regulating the flow of those materials under pressure to tubes 24and 26.

FIGS. 2-4 show extruder tubes 24 and 26 and deflector plates 30 ingreater detail. Outside tube 26 longitudinally extends along andcircumferentially extends completely around inside tube 24; and, in thisway, tubes 24 and 26 form annular passageway 32 therebetween. Deflectorplates 30 are connected to at least a selected one of the inside andoutside tubes 24 and 26, extend at least partially across annularpassageway 32, and form a plurality of circumferentially spaced apartopenings 34 in passageway 32.

During operation of extruder apparatus 10, the first edible material(identified by reference number 36 in FIG. 4) is conducted throughinside tube 24 and through front outlet 38 thereof, and the secondedible material (identified by reference number 40 in FIG. 4) isconducted through annular passageway 32 and through outlet 42 thereof.Deflector plates 30 partially block forward movement of second ediblematerial 40 through annular passageway 32 and guide that edible materialinto openings 34 so that the second edible material is discharged fromthe annular passageway through those openings.

In this way, deflector plates 30 form second edible material 40 into aplurality of circumferentially spaced apart strands 44 (one of which isshown in FIG. 4) extending forward from annular passageway 32, and morespecifically, longitudinally extending directly forward from spaces 34.Deflector plates 30 also form a plurality of circumferentially spacedapart zones 46 (one of which is shown in FIG. 4), between strands 44 andsubstantially free of second edible material 40. Zones 46 also extendforward from annular passageway 32, and more specifically,longitudinally extend directly forward from plates 30. At the same time,the pressure of first edible material 36 discharged from inside tube 24is sufficient so that this material expands radially outwardly intozones 46 to fill those zones with the first edible material and tothereby form product 48 having longitudinally running, alternatingstrands, or spokes, 44 and 50 of the second and first edible materialsrespectively, as seen in FIG. 5. These strands 44 and 50, in turn, formalternating outside stripes on product 48 of the first and second ediblematerials.

Outside tube 26 includes forward portion 52 projecting forward of outlet38 of inside tube 24 and forming an expansion section wherein firstedible material 36 expands outwardly into zones 46. Portion 52 of tube26 limits radially outward movement of edible material 36 dischargedfrom inside tube 24, also limits radially outward movement of ediblematerial 40 discharged from annular passageway 32, and, in addition,guides forward movement of the formed product 48. Tube portion 52includes front outlet 54 to discharge product 48 from extruder nozzle22, and a conventional conveyer belt or other suitable carrier (notshown) may be located below the nozzle outlet 54 to carry the extrudedproduct away from that outlet. Preferably, forward portion 52 projectsforward of inside tube 24 a distance greater than the maximum radialdistance between the inside and outside tubes at the front terminal edgeof the inside tube.

As clearly shown in FIG. 5, the formed product 48 comprises innercylindrical core 56 of the first edible material, and outer shellportion 60 comprised of the alternating spokes 44 and 50 of the firstand second edible materials. If desired, the formed product 48 may betwisted about its longitudinal axis in any acceptable way to twiststrands 44 and 50 into a helical pattern.

Preferably, deflector plates 30 are connected to at least inside tube24; and even more preferably, the deflector plates are connected to bothinside and outside tubes 24 and 26 so that the deflector plates supportthe inside tube within the outside tube. Also, preferably deflectorplates 30 radially extend completely, or at least substantiallycompletely, across annular passageway 32 to substantially prevent thesecond edible material from passing forward radially between thedeflector plates and inside and outside tubes 24 and 26. In addition,plates 30 are preferably located adjacent the front terminal edge ofinside tube 24; and, more specifically, those plates extend outward fromthat edge of the inside tube.

For example, deflector plates 30 may be integral with the front terminaledge of the inside tube 24; and these deflector plates may be formed bysimply cutting or stamping out circumferentially spaced apart portionsof a forward section of tube 24, and then bending outward the remainingportions of that forward section of the tube to form the deflectorplates. Once tube 24 and deflector plates 30 are made, they may beinserted into outside tube 26, and then plates 30 may be brazed orwelded to that outside tube to securely connect them thereto.

Alternatively, each deflector plate may include a first part connectedto and extending radially inwardly from outside tube 26, and a secondpart connected to and extending radially outwardly from inside tube 24.The second part of the plate extends radially directly inwardly of thefirst part of the deflector plate, and these parts of the deflectorplate may or may not themselves be connected together. As shown in FIG.2, deflector plates 30 extend generally perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the inside tube 24; however, this is not necessaryto the practice of the present invention and, for example, the deflectorplates may, as shown in FIG. 6, extend outwardly rearwardly relative tothe inside tube.

Support means, such as a pair of radially extending arms 62 (shown inFIG. 1), may be connected to inside and outside tubes 24 and 26 to helphold the inside tube in a preferred position within the outside tube.Preferably, the rearwardly facing surfaces of arms 62 are rounded orcurved to reduce any turbulence or gap that is created by those arms inthe edible material flowing forward therepast. In addition, preferablyarms 62 are located a substantial distance rearward of deflector plates30 so that any turbulence or gap created in the flow of the materialpast those arms is dissipated by the time that material reaches thedeflector plates.

Tubes 24 and 26 may have cross-sectional shapes different than what isshown in the drawings; and, for instance, they may have square,rectangular or eliptically shaped cross-sections. Furthermore, outsidetube 26 may have a cross-section that is different than thecross-section of inside tube 24; and, for example, the outside tube mayhave a square cross-section while the inside tube has a circularcross-section. Further, preferably tubes 24 and 26 are concentricallypositioned with respect to each other, and the inside tube tapersforwardly radially outwardly relative to the outside tube, althoughthese features are not essential to the practice of this invention inits broadest sense.

The specific pressures and volumes of the materials extruded throughnozzle 22 may be varied over extensive ranges. Preferably, though, thematerial conducted through inside tube 24 is at or near the pressure ofthe material conducted through annular passageway 32 in order tominimize any pressure differential across the wall of the inside tube.Also, with the embodiment of nozzle 22 shown in the drawings, thecross-sectional area of annular passageway 32 adjacent the outlet 42thereof is approximately equal to the cross-sectional area of insidetube 24 at outlet 38 thereof.

The number and sizes of the alternating strands 44 and 50 in product 48may be varied over considerable ranges. The number of such strands canbe varied by changing the number of deflector plates 30, and the sizesof strands 44 and 50 can be changed by varying the circumferentiallyextending lengths of individual plates 30. In particular, changing thecircumferentially extending length of plates 30 changes the thickness ofstrands 50 in the circumferential direction, while changing the spacingbetween the deflector plates in the circumferential direction, changesthe thickness of strands 44 in the circumferential direction.

Further, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art,the circumferentially extending thickness of strands 44 may be differentthan the circumferentially extending thickness of strands 50. Also, thethickness of strands 44 and 50 in the radial direction depends on theradial distance between inside and outside tubes 24 and 26 at outlet 42of annular passageway 32, and the thickness of inner core 56 in theradial direction is determined by the inside diameter of the inside tubeat outlet 38. In addition, strands 44 can be regularly or irregularlyspaced apart, and they can radiate outward from core 56 either alongstraight or along curved lines.

Extruder nozzle 22 is very simple to construct, install and operate;and, in particular, the extruder nozzle of this invention may be made byadding deflector plates 30 to various types of commercially availablecoextrusion devices. Moreover, the number of strands 44 and 50 on theformed product 48 may be changed by simply changing the number ofdeflector plates 30, and it is not necessary to change or vary thenumber of mechanisms or lines feeding material to extruder nozzle 22, orto provide complicated equipment inside the extruder nozzle to split thematerial fed thereto into a plurality of ropes or strands.

Apparatus 10 works very well with conventional chewing gum materials;and, for example, several suitable chewing gum formulations that may beused in the practice of this invention are described in detail in U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,352,825 and 4,399,154. In particular, the first ediblematerial may comprise a first chewing gum formulation including a gumbase, a premixed recrystallized combination of at least two sweeteners,including solids and liquid sweeteners, which preferably include sucroseand/or sorbitol and/or hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, and highfructose syrup alone or together with liquid glucose, hydrogenatedstarch, hydrolysate syrup, corn syrup, sorbitol syrup and/or invertsugar, in the recrystallized mixture, and flavors, softeners and otherconventional chewing gum ingredients. The second edible material maycomprise a second chewing gum formulation including any of thesweeteners, flavors, bulking agents, gum base ingredients and othermiscellaneous ingredients that may be present in the first chewing gumformulation.

The coextruded chewing gum product of this invention may take variousshapes and sizes, and may be multi-colored and/or multi-flavored. At thesame time, it should be noted that the method and apparatus of thisinvention may be used with edible materials, such as cereals, dough,pastry products, ice confections and medicaments, other than chewing gummaterials.

While it is apparent that the invention disclosed herein is wellcalculated to fulfill the objects previously stated, it will beappreciated that numerous modifications and embodiments may be devisedby those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the appended claimscover all such modifications and embodiments as fall within the truespirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for extruding an edible product of thetype having an elongated, internal cylindrical core and an elongatedannular sheath annularly extending completely around the cylindricalcore and defining a longitudinally and annularly extending outsidesurface, the apparatus comprising:first supply means for holding a firstextrudable edible material; second supply means for holding a secondextrudable edible material; an inside extruder tube; an outside extrudertube extending along and around the inside tube, the inside and outsidetubes forming an annular passageway continuously extending around theinside tube, between the inside and outside tubes, the outside tubeincluding a forward portion projecting forward of the inside tube toengage and shape the outside surface of the edible product and to guideforward movement thereof; means connected to the second supply means andto the outside extruder tube to feed the second edible material from thesecond supply means, to and through the annular passageway, the secondmaterial moving through said annular passageway in the shape of anelongated ring; a plurality of deflector plates connected to at least aselected one of the inside and outside tubes and radially extending atleast partially across the annular passageway at a front end thereof, toforce the second edible material from said elongated ring and into aplurality of circumferentially spaced apart strands longitudinallyextending forward from the annular passageway and radially extendingoutward from the core of the edible product to the outside surfacethereof, and to form a plurality of circumferentially spaced apartzones, between said strands, substantially free of the second ediblematerial and extending forward from the annular passageway; and meansconnected to the first supply means and to the inside extruder tube tofeed the first edible material from the first supply means, to andthrough the inside extruder tube, and radially outwardly into said zonesto form the first edible material into the core of the product and intoa plurality of strands radially extending outward from the core of theedible product to the outside surface thereof, whereby the annularsheath of the edible product includes alternating longitudinallyextending strands of the first and second edible materials.
 2. Apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein:the forward portion of the outside tubedefines a tube axis; the deflector plates form a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced apart openings in the annular passageway; saidstrands of the second edible material extend directly forward from saidopenings, parallel to said tube axis; and said zones extend directlyforward from the deflector plates, parallel to said tube axis. 3.Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the deflector plates areconnected to both the inside and the outside tubes to support the insidetube within the outside tube.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 2,wherein: the inside tube includes a front terminal edge; and thedeflector plates extend across the annular passageway adjacent the frontedge of the inside tube.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein thedeflector plates are integrally connected to and extend outward from thefront edge of the inside tube.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 4,wherein the deflector plates extend outward from the inside tubegenerally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof.
 7. Apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein the deflector plates extend outwardlyrearwardly from the inside tube.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 2,further including support means connecting the inside tube to theoutside tube to hold the inside tube in place within the outside tube.9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the support means includes apair of arms connected to and radially extending between the inside andoutside tubes.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the insidetube is concentric with the outside tube.
 11. Apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein:the inside tube includes a front terminal edge; and theoutside tube projects forward of the inside tube a distance greater thanthe maximum radial distance between the inside and outside tubes at thefront terminal edge of the inside tube.
 12. Apparatus according to claim5, wherein the deflector plates are formed by bending radially outwardlya forward portion of the inside tube.
 13. Apparatus according to claim1, whereinthe inside extruder tube has a front edge; and the spacedapart zones extend into the forward portion of the outside tube,radially outside of the forward projection of the front edge of theinside tube.
 14. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:each deflectorplate is located directly forward of a respective portion of saidelongated ring, and forces the second edible material from saidrespective portion and into the strands of the second edible material.15. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inside tube forwardlytapers radially outwardly.
 16. An extruder nozzle for extruding firstand second extrudable edible materials into an edible product of thetype having an elongated, internal cylindrical core and an elongatedannular sheath annularly extending completely around the cylindricalcore and defining a longitudinally and annularly extending outsidesurface, the extruder nozzle comprising:an inside tube for receiving thefirst edible material and forming the first edible material into thecore of the edible product; an outside tube extending along and aroundthe inside tube, the inside and outside tubes forming an annularpassageway continuously extending around the inside tube, between theinside and outside tubes, for receiving the second edible material andguiding the second edible material forward through the annularpassageway in the shape of an elongated ring; and a plurality ofdeflector plates secured in the annular passageway adjacent a front endthereof to force the second edible material from said elongated ring andinto a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart strandslongitudinally extending forward from the annular passageway andradially extending outward from the core of the edible product to theoutside surface thereof, and to form a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced apart zones, between said strands, substantially free of thesecond edible material, said zones longitudinally extending forward fromthe annular passageway and radially extending from the core of theedible product to the outside surface thereof; and the outside tubeincluding a forward portion projecting forward of the inside tube, andforming an expansion section wherein the first edible material expandsradially outwardly from the inside tube to fill said zones and form aplurality of strands radially extending outward from the core of theedible product to the outside surface thereof, whereby the annularsheath of the edible product includes alternating longitudinallyextending, outside strands of the first and second edible materials. 17.An extruder nozzle according to claim 16, wherein:the inside tubeincludes a front terminal edge; and the deflector plates are integrallyconnected to and extend outward from the front edge of the inside tube.18. An extruder nozzle according to claim 17, wherein the deflectorplates are also connected to the outside tube to support the inside tubetherewith.
 19. An extruder nozzle according to claim 18, wherein theinside tube is concentric with the outside tube.
 20. An extruder nozzleaccording to claim 16, wherein the deflector plates are formed bybending radially outwardly a forward portion of the inside tube.
 21. Anextruder nozzle according to claim 20, wherein the inside tube forwardlytapers radially outwardly.